Metastatic breast cancer awareness day

What is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day?

National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day takes place on October 13th during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The aim of MBC Awareness day is to shift the focus of the breast cancer movement onto patients living metastatic breast cancer.

Why do we need Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day?

In October, a month devoted to raising awareness of breast cancer, and making an impact upon thousands of women and men in Canada and world-wide, there is a silent minority who is all too often forgotten. In their landmark 2006 study, ‘Silent Voices’ Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) reported that women with metastatic breast cancer often felt their medical, emotional, physical and financial needs went largely unaddressed [4]. Furthermore, many of these women felt isolated and alone during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which ‘skews heavily toward those newly diagnosed or whose treatment has ended—those who appear, at least on the surface, to be doing well’ [5].

MBC Awareness Day aims to have metastatic breast cancer patients needs heard and made a priority. While the general public is aware of this disease, people are oftentimes ignorant of the more uncomfortable facts surrounding metastatic breast cancer. This day sheds light on the uglier, less happy side of breast cancer.

‘”The pain of October is knowing that you don’t fit in with the predominant happy theme of what is portrayed normally in the media,” said Shirley Mertz, 68, president of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network, who lives in suburban Chicago.’ [6]